Hi all!
TL : DR - I am looking into using a "selfie" drone to do GIS mapping (not surveying). Follow along with my adventures if you so choose! ***EDIT*** Just want to add, this thread is not a discussion on if there are better options than a Spark (of course there are) so you can keep those comments to yourself. I have seen people use a ballon for mapping, so a Spark is way ahead of that.
Long version:
As mentioned in my introduction to the site I am new to drones but not to the data created by them. Over the years I have spent many hours processing and utilizing aerial and satellite photographs, many of those hours dedicated to extracting information for analysis.
That said, I know a lot of the commercial mapping drones have been the larger and higher end models (like the DJI Inspire or even the Phantom 4 Pro), but what about the new crop of small drones that are still packed with sensors?
I got a DJI Spark for Christmas and because I am a GIS nerd the first thing that went through my mind was, "can I collect data to view in GIS"? After some research it seemed as though it should be technically possible but there are definitely some pros and cons and I just wanted to document my journey here.
Pros:
1. Doesn't Support way point flights.
While this is technically true, I did find that an iOS app called Autopilot (from Hangar) does support way point flights on the Spark. For this to work though it requires that the aircraft be connected to the RC for the entirety of the flight or else it will RTH without finishing the mission.
2. Lack of redundant sensors
While there really isn't any way to address this by adding more hardware (I don't think this thing could take much of a payload at all seeing as how it only weighs around 300 grams) there is the ability to be conscious of this and pay more attention to your logs and errors to make sure you don't push your luck and one of the sensors goes out while you are in a bad place.
3. Shorter flight times
This one is a bit of a pain, but the easy answer is to just buy more batteries. If you need to fly a longer mission it looks like the Autopilot software will enable to you start and stop at "checkpoints" throughout the campaign. Breaking up a larger mission will allow you to change batteries, allow things to cool down (or heat up depending on climate), and readjust your ground position if needed.
4. Shorter transmission distance
Short transmission distance in this case means 1.2 miles (in ideal conditions), so in reality this will probably never really be an issue since the short battery life will dictate that you can't fly that far away to begin with. But if it does every become an issue then there are ways to boost your signal. I have heard that people get fairly good results with a simple parabolic reflector on the RC. That is on my list of things to test if I ever run into signal issues.
So, where do I go from here? Right now it is freezing outside and I am still in the research phase. I plan on creating missions in Autopilot to collect photographs with a high level of overlap and then feed the images into Drone2Map from Esri. From there I will see what kind of outputs I can get, from just normal orthophotographs to point clouds and 3D models. Just will have to wait and see.
Let me know if you have any (relevant) thoughts, questions, or suggestions.
Jeff
TL : DR - I am looking into using a "selfie" drone to do GIS mapping (not surveying). Follow along with my adventures if you so choose! ***EDIT*** Just want to add, this thread is not a discussion on if there are better options than a Spark (of course there are) so you can keep those comments to yourself. I have seen people use a ballon for mapping, so a Spark is way ahead of that.
Long version:
As mentioned in my introduction to the site I am new to drones but not to the data created by them. Over the years I have spent many hours processing and utilizing aerial and satellite photographs, many of those hours dedicated to extracting information for analysis.
That said, I know a lot of the commercial mapping drones have been the larger and higher end models (like the DJI Inspire or even the Phantom 4 Pro), but what about the new crop of small drones that are still packed with sensors?
I got a DJI Spark for Christmas and because I am a GIS nerd the first thing that went through my mind was, "can I collect data to view in GIS"? After some research it seemed as though it should be technically possible but there are definitely some pros and cons and I just wanted to document my journey here.
Pros:
- Super small
- Portable
- Inexpensive (comparatively)
- Easy* to fly (this is subjective of course, but the bar is lower than many professional quads)
- Doesn't support way point flights (through DJI apps at least)
- Lack of redundant sensors
- Shorter flight times
- Shorter transmission distance (than the newer drones like the Mavic)
1. Doesn't Support way point flights.
While this is technically true, I did find that an iOS app called Autopilot (from Hangar) does support way point flights on the Spark. For this to work though it requires that the aircraft be connected to the RC for the entirety of the flight or else it will RTH without finishing the mission.
2. Lack of redundant sensors
While there really isn't any way to address this by adding more hardware (I don't think this thing could take much of a payload at all seeing as how it only weighs around 300 grams) there is the ability to be conscious of this and pay more attention to your logs and errors to make sure you don't push your luck and one of the sensors goes out while you are in a bad place.
3. Shorter flight times
This one is a bit of a pain, but the easy answer is to just buy more batteries. If you need to fly a longer mission it looks like the Autopilot software will enable to you start and stop at "checkpoints" throughout the campaign. Breaking up a larger mission will allow you to change batteries, allow things to cool down (or heat up depending on climate), and readjust your ground position if needed.
4. Shorter transmission distance
Short transmission distance in this case means 1.2 miles (in ideal conditions), so in reality this will probably never really be an issue since the short battery life will dictate that you can't fly that far away to begin with. But if it does every become an issue then there are ways to boost your signal. I have heard that people get fairly good results with a simple parabolic reflector on the RC. That is on my list of things to test if I ever run into signal issues.
So, where do I go from here? Right now it is freezing outside and I am still in the research phase. I plan on creating missions in Autopilot to collect photographs with a high level of overlap and then feed the images into Drone2Map from Esri. From there I will see what kind of outputs I can get, from just normal orthophotographs to point clouds and 3D models. Just will have to wait and see.
Let me know if you have any (relevant) thoughts, questions, or suggestions.
Jeff
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